teapots: why did they stop them, can I get them back?

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Under Windows up to 98 - and also up to 2000 on the NT line - the
"plumber's nightmare" screensaver (I think it's called something like
"3D pipes" officially), if correctly configured, would replace one joint
in 1000 by a teapot. [It looked like fewer, because the 1-in-1000 might
have been right at the back or immediately obscured by another pipe or
joint.]

From XP onwards, they stopped the teapots (or possibly changed the
ratio, but I think they just stopped them).

1. Anyone know why they stopped them?
2. Can I get them back? (Is it just a matter of getting the .scr file
from a '98 system? I suspect not, as I've generally found old .scrs
don't work "out of the box" on an XP system, but need something like
FreeScreensaverManager to make them work at all.)

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Under Windows up to 98 - and also up to 2000 on the NT line - the
"plumber's nightmare" screensaver (I think it's called something like
"3D pipes" officially), if correctly configured, would replace one
joint in 1000 by a teapot. [It looked like fewer, because the
1-in-1000 might have been right at the back or immediately obscured
by another pipe or joint.] From XP onwards, they stopped the teapots
(or possibly changed the ratio, but I think they just stopped them).
1. Anyone know why they stopped them?
2. Can I get them back? (Is it just a matter of getting the .scr file
from a '98 system? I suspect not, as I've generally found old .scrs
don't work "out of the box" on an XP system, but need something like
FreeScreensaverManager to make them work at all.)

The windows 98 Plus CD
And Windows ME

Bing: Pipe Screensavers Windows XP

< http://www.bing.com/search?q=Pipe+Screensavers+Windows+XP&FORM=R5FD2 >

Yes, I can google too. That link provides lots of links; looking at the
first page, I see no mention of teapots. Yes, I could read each one. But
I thought I'd ask here first, in case anyone knew.

 

[Paul]

Under Windows up to 98 - and also up to 2000 on the NT line - the
"plumber's nightmare" screensaver (I think it's called something like
"3D pipes" officially), if correctly configured, would replace one
joint in 1000 by a teapot. [It looked like fewer, because the
1-in-1000 might have been right at the back or immediately obscured
by another pipe or joint.] From XP onwards, they stopped the teapots
(or possibly changed the ratio, but I think they just stopped them).
1. Anyone know why they stopped them?
2. Can I get them back? (Is it just a matter of getting the .scr file
from a '98 system? I suspect not, as I've generally found old .scrs
don't work "out of the box" on an XP system, but need something like
FreeScreensaverManager to make them work at all.)

The windows 98 Plus CD
And Windows ME

Bing: Pipe Screensavers Windows XP

< http://www.bing.com/search?q=Pipe+Screensavers+Windows+XP&FORM=R5FD2 >

Yes, I can google too. That link provides lots of links; looking at the
first page, I see no mention of teapots. Yes, I could read each one. But
I thought I'd ask here first, in case anyone knew.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_eggs_in_Microsoft_products

"The pipe screensaver in Windows 95 through to ME inclusive
very occasionally has the Utah teapot appear instead of a standard joint.
It only appears if the pipes are "multiple", pipe-style "standard",
joint-type "multiple" and texture "solid" under the screensaver's settings"

"Windows 2000 and XP have an undocumented texture in the pipes (sspipes.scr)
screensaver that makes the pipes red and white similar to candy canes."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_teapot

"the GLUT library even provides the function glutSolidTeapot() as a
graphics primitive, as does its Direct3D counterpart D3DX (D3DXCreateTeapot()).
However version 11 of DirectX does not provide this functionality anymore.
"

"The Utah teapot sometimes appears in the "Pipes" screensaver shipped with
Microsoft Windows, but only in versions prior to Windows XP"

So that suggests a much later OS may not have the necessary function for it.
(Assuming it's called from a library, rather than created right in the .scr.)
WinXP is DX9, so that shouldn't be the issue there.

A few fun comments here.

http://www.eeggs.com/items/493.html

As well as a "find the teapot" Where's Waldo.

http://www.eeggs.com/images/items/1199.full.jpg

If you look at the teapots in there, one of them it
looks like the handle is cleaved off. Suggesting the
..scr has the code for rendering that itself. If you used
a library "put a teapot here" call, it might make a
mess of where the teapot handle meets a pipe.

Have fun with your experiments. In that last link, someone
mentions hacking the thing so every joint is a teapot,
slowing down the screensaver.

*******

It appears the .scr files are quite portable, based
on some reports here.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...or-vista/a8fb0b42-b5cc-46df-9b35-0a6ec6f4aefa

I have a Windows 98 VM, and C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\3D Pipes.scr
is in there. 158KB. So now you can drag that around
and test it.

If you can dig up the hack to bypass the random number
generator, you might be able to speed up the appearance
of a teapot.

Paul

 

[micky]

Under Windows up to 98 - and also up to 2000 on the NT line - the
"plumber's nightmare" screensaver (I think it's called something like
"3D pipes" officially), if correctly configured, would replace one joint
in 1000 by a teapot. [It looked like fewer, because the 1-in-1000 might
have been right at the back or immediately obscured by another pipe or
joint.]

In XP, I'm using 3D pipes right now, but I also have winME and maybe
win98 on my external drive.

Do you want me to send you ME's version of 3D pipes?

There are also other 3D things: Flower Box, Maze, Flying Objects, and
Text.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <[email protected]>, micky

In XP, I'm using 3D pipes right now, but I also have winME and maybe
win98 on my external drive.

Do you want me to send you ME's version of 3D pipes?

Thanks for the offer; I have '98 here, so it's not a problem - other
than that I've generally found older screensavers won't work under XP
(without a bit of effort). What I really was curious about was
[][]

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote: [] []
"The pipe screensaver in Windows 95 through to ME inclusive
very occasionally has the Utah teapot appear instead of a standard joint.

(A stretched Melita teapot.)

It only appears if the pipes are "multiple", pipe-style "standard",
joint-type "multiple" and texture "solid" under the screensaver's
settings"

"Windows 2000 and XP have an undocumented texture in the pipes
(sspipes.scr)
screensaver that makes the pipes red and white similar to candy canes."

(I didn't know that, nor how to invoke it.) But, unfortunately, no
longer the teapots.
[]

"The Utah teapot sometimes appears in the "Pipes" screensaver shipped with
Microsoft Windows, but only in versions prior to Windows XP"

So that suggests a much later OS may not have the necessary function for it.
(Assuming it's called from a library, rather than created right in the .scr.)

Hmm. I'd always assumed the .scr was self-contained; interesting
question. I suppose I could run the old Dependency Walker on it.
[]

Have fun with your experiments. In that last link, someone
mentions hacking the thing so every joint is a teapot,
slowing down the screensaver.

I understood - I forget whence - that the probability was 1 in 1000, and
achieved by generating a random number in that range and only making a
teapot if the number matched some specific (but unremarkable) value.

*******

It appears the .scr files are quite portable, based
on some reports here.

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-desktop/3
d-pipes-screensaver-for-vista/a8fb0b42-b5cc-46df-9b35-0a6ec6f4aefa

I'll have a look, thanks. I assumed it wasn't because of experience
running other old .scrs - not least, them not showing up in the list in
display properties.
[]

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Tits like watermelons; sparrows prefer bacon rind. - Gene Wirchenko, in
alt.windows7.general, 2012-10-16.

Actually, I got that sig from someone else:

03-22-97 Dave Beecham <[email protected]>

---
* SLMR 2.1a #113 * Tits like watermelons, sparrows like bacon rind.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

Actually, I got that sig from someone else:

03-22-97 Dave Beecham <[email protected]>

---
* SLMR 2.1a #113 * Tits like watermelons, sparrows like bacon rind.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

Thanks; attribution added to my quotes file.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

news:[email protected]... []
1. Anyone know why they stopped them?
2. Can I get them back? (Is it just a matter of getting the .scr
file from a '98 system? I suspect not, as I've generally found old
.scrs don't work "out of the box" on an XP system, but need
something like FreeScreensaverManager to make them work at all.)

[]
Well here the one I like
Google: java teapots screensavers

Windows 98 Easter Egg - Teapot Screensaver
< http://www.eeggs.com/items/2422.html >

1. Go to Display properties for screensavers
2. Select pipes as "multiple"
3. Select Pipe style as "Traditional"
4. Select joint type as "mixed"
5. Surface style to be "solid"
6. Click OK
7. Watch the screensaver for teapots instead of joints!

Also works on Win95.

But NOT with XP or later.

java teapots screensavers

--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

I'm sometimes a bit bewildered by that, really - there are no young people in
it, there's no sex, there's no violence, no car chases and there's no action
and no vampires. - Colin Firth on the success of the film "The King's Speech".
Radio Times 10-16 September 2011